United Colonies
United (Thirteen) Colonies In 1606, King James I of England and James VI of Scotland granted charters to both the Plymouth Company and the London Company for the purpose of establishing permanent settlements in North America. The first permanently settled English colony on the North American continent was the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, established 1607. The Plymouth Company did found the Popham Colony on the Kennebec River, but it was short-lived. The Plymouth Council for New England sponsored several colonization projects, culminating with Plymouth Colony, which was settled by the English Puritans who are known today as the Pilgrims. The Dutch, Swedish, and French also established successful North American colonies at roughly the same time as the English, but they eventually came under the English crown. The United (Thirteen) colonies were complete with the establishment of the Province of Georgia in 1732, although the term "Thirteen Colonies" became current only in the context of the American Revolution. The number Thirteen (13) is mentioned as early as 1720 by Abel Boyer, The Political State of Great Britain vol. 19, p. 376: "so in this Country we have Thirteen Colonies at least severally govern'd by their repective Commanders in Chief, according to their peculiar Laws and Constitutions." This includes Carolina as a single colony, and does not include Georgia, but instead counts Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as British colonies. Early use of the term "thirteen colonies" in this context dates to the American Revolution, for example John Roebuck, An Enquiry, Whether the Guilt of the Present Civil War in America, Ought to be Imputed to Great Britain Or America, p. 21: "though the colonies be thus absolutely subject to the parliament of England, the individuals of which the colony consist, may enjoy security, and freedom; there is not a single inhabitant, of the thirteen colonies, now in arms, but who may be conscious of the truth of this assertion". The critical review, or annals of literature vol. 48 (1779), p. 136: "during the last war, no part of his majesty's dominions contained a greater proportion of faithful subjects than the Thirteen Colonies." Northern colonies (New England) also called New England * Province of New Hampshire, established in the 1620s, chartered as crown colony in 1679 * Province of Massachusetts Bay, established in the 1620s, a crown colony 1692 * Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, established 1636, chartered as crown colony in 1663 * Connecticut Colony, established 1636, chartered as crown colony in 1662 Middle colonies * Province of New York, proprietary colony 1664–1685, crown colony from 1686 * Province of New Jersey, proprietary colony from 1664, crown colony from 1702 * Province of Pennsylvania, a proprietary colony established 1681 * Delaware Colony (before 1776, the Lower Counties on Delaware), a proprietary colony established 1664 Southern colonies * Province of Maryland, a proprietary colony established 1632 * Colony and Dominion of Virginia, a crown colony established 1607 * Province of Carolina, a proprietary colony established 1663 ** Divided into the Province of North Carolina and Province of South Carolina in 1712, each became a crown colony in 1729 * Province of Georgia, a crown colony established 1732 See also Thirteen Colonies Category:United Colonies